Where we left off
by mountaingirl80
Summary: 7 years following Kate's death, Ducky is lying on a beach. He reveals some information he has kept locked up. Is Kate alive? Or is it wishful thinking on Ducky's part?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Ducky arrived and saw Palmer across the beach. He smiled as he walked towards him. The sun shone on his back and he felt the heat. His mentee was about to get married and he was happy to be there to support him. But, as Ducky walked across the beach, a pain grabbed him in the chest. "It's ok, just a bit of heartburn" he told himself, but this did not help him. Gradually the pain became worse and worse. Ducky suddenly found he couldn't walk anymore, he grabbed his chest as his legs gave way and he collapsed on the sand. Palmer, watching him from afar, started running to Ducky, as Ducky found it hard to breathe. Concentrating on his breathing, Ducky suddenly realised that Palmer was beside him.

"Dr Mallard?" Palmer asked.

"Mr Palmer?" Ducky responded.

"Dr Mallard, I'll call for help. Just stay with me!"

"H h h help me... tell Jethro... find Caitlyn" was Ducky's response.

"Caitlyn?" asked Palmer.

"Caitlyn is alive... it is time Jethro found her" and then Ducky fell into an uneasy slumber. After checking that Ducky was still alive and breathing, and that the ambulance was indeed on its way, Palmer then calls Gibbs at NCIS. Unknown to Palmer, NCIS is in lock-down following a recently detonated bomb onsite.

"Gibbs" is the answer on the mobile.

"Agent Gibbs, this is Jimmy Palmer. I have some bad news about Dr Mallard"

No response from the other end.

"... oh... well... Dr Mallard has been taken ill. He collapsed and is being taken to hospital."

"How is Ducky now?"

"Well, he is coping now. He will need some support, but I think the emergency medical team will pull him through"

"Good, we'll see Ducky when he gets home." Gibbs is about to cut Palmer off

"There is a message Agent Gibbs," Palmer responds, "Dr Mallard said you must find Caitlyn?" Palmer himself is not sure of the message. He hopes that Gibbs understands.

"Find Caitlyn? Are you sure that is the message?" asks Gibbs, confused now.

"Yes" replied Palmer.

Gibbs hangs up. He cannot deal with this now. He needs to ensure the rest of his team are ok. He needs to think carefully how he is going to get his team to work on this. Caitlyn Todd is dead. He knows this. Heck, he even saw this with his own eyes. He saw the bullet hit her in the head. He ensured that the bastard that killed her died. They buried her. They saw her laid to rest and then they moved on, as they felt she should. But he didn't forget her. And he knew the rest of his team didn't. Particularly not Tony. It was going to be Tony that suffered the hardest if this turns out to be a false alarm.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Do not own any NCIS characters/stories, etc.

Chapter 2

Katherine DiNozzo had just taught a full day. 5 hours of US Government lessons. Only 3 days left to their exam. It had been a shock to find her teaching this subject, but she was enjoying it. After 6 years of teaching History and Ethics in Britain, she had found the transition tough, but was now finding that she had settled back into the American life. Her daughter, Charlotte, had also settled in well and had found new friends in America. They were planning a visit back to their old friends in England in the summer. Katherine, or Kate as known to her friends, had found it difficult to make the decision, but had finally decided it was time to return home. She wasn't willing to spend the rest of her life in England and after 6 years had felt she really should go now, before she became too settled in her adopted country. Her real home was the USA, and particularly Washington. It was, after all, the home of her husband. And she felt their daughter should really understand where her Mum and Dad had lived prior to the birth. And so, just 1 year ago, she had successfully applied for and been accepted for this post, starting in the new school year. She and Charlotte had packed up their belongings, and found somewhere in Washington to live. And whilst Kate often thought of what should have been, she also remembered how things could have turned out and was eternally grateful that her daughter had been born safe and well.

Kate let out a grateful prayer as she picked up her daughter and headed back to their apartment.

Xxx

Meanwhile, Gibbs found Abby in her lab.

"Hey Gibbs, I'm fine. Bomb didn't touch me. Still working on those prints."

"I've got another job for you Abs" Gibbs responded.

"Oh?"

"Is there anyone on record with Kate Todd's prints?"

Abby stood still and stared at Gibbs.

"Did I hear you right?" she eventually asked.

"Yep," he replied. "But don't tell anyone yet. I need to know if there is truth in these rumours." And with that Gibbs walked out of the lab.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for reviews recieved. Hope you enjoy this.**

**Disclaimer: Do not own!**

2 days later

Tony was at home. It had been 2 days since the bomb at NCIS and the ensuing chaos that had followed. It was the first time he had returned home following the event, since he had been required to help out with the wounded and carry out investigations into what might have happened. Even now, they weren't sure, but the team had been pulled off the case and jurisdiction had been given to the FBI. It had been felt that NCIS could not be completely subjective and there was concern that there may be a mole at NCIS. Hence, Fornell and his team had taken over and Tony had been sent home. Now, he sat there alone, thinking of yet more agents that had been lost in the last days and wishing that, for once, he wasn't in the front line when it happened.

Of course, despite the number that had been lost in the bombing, this was not his worst. That had been when Kate had died. They had been on a rooftop when a sniper had hit her in the head – Ari Haswari the man responsible. She had died in his arms and there had been nothing he could do. It had been made worse by the fact that they had only recently been married, but had kept it secret from the team. Even now, the only person who knew was Gibbs, and only because Tony had needed to tell someone in the days following her death. Tony collected up his photo album and started to flick through the images.

_Flashback_

_"Hey, Kate!" Tony shouted down the Las Vegas Strip. He'd known Kate was coming this weekend, even though she had denied it to him for the last week. He'd found her flight ticket when snooping through her desk._

_"Get lost, DiNozzo," Kate growled back at him. She was wondering why she had agreed to meet him there. They had been staying together, on and off, for the last few weeks. However, she still wasn't convinced that Tony was ready to settle down. And she wasn't prepared to give in to him when they weren't serious. She was going to have a nice weekend with her friends and ignore the fact that Tony was also here with his friends._

_However, 4 hours later Kate was drunk. And so was Tony. And they were together. Walking past The Chapel of Love._

_"Kate. How about you and I go get hitched?" Tony suggested. Kate laughed at him, shook her head and kept walking. Tony grabbed her arm, turning her around to face him and letting the others go on ahead._

_"Why not? I love you. You love me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I'm trying to prove to you that you are the one woman for me. Please?" Tony begged. Kate nodded._

_"Hey, you lot!" Tony shouted, "We're going in here. Any of you wanna be a witness?"_

_And within 15 minutes, Tony and Kate were married. All was fine until the following morning._

_"Tony, what the hell happened last night?" Kate shouted at Tony in his hotel room. "I was supposed to be staying with the girls, and what the hell is this?" she pointed to the ring on her finger. Tony, in a hungover state, looked carefully at Kate before responding._

_"We got married," he said quietly._

_"What?!" she shrieked._

_"Carefull Kate. You nearly punched out my ear drums!"_

_"What did you do to me Tony?" Kate asked. Tony has looked at Kate, taken her hand in his and said:_

_"I asked you to marry me, you said yes. We got married. I promise you that I meant everything I said and did last night. I love you and I do want to spend my life with you. Of course, if you are having second thoughts, we could get... divorced?" _

_Kate thought for a moment and then shook her head._

_"I'm sorry for yelling Tony. I don't believe in divorce, I just can't believe we got married last night." Tony smiled at Kate and pulled her close, hugging her to him. Later that day they had flown back to DC. However, Kate had refused to move in with Tony; "I just want to take it slow," she had said. Within 3 weeks, Kate had been dead._

Tony awoke with a start as his phone rang. He looked at the time – 6.30am. He must have fallen asleep whilst looking at the photos. He picked up the phone and answered it.

"DiNozzo."

Gibbs' response was swift. There was a case, get to the Navy Yard ASAP. Then he hung off. Tony got out of his seat and headed for the bathroom. He was going to need a shower to get himself ready for today. 30 minutes later he was heading out the door.

As Tony walked into the bullpen, he realised both Ziva and McGee were there. Gibbs arrived at the same time as Tony.

"Body of dead marine found in the High School grounds," Gibbs explained. "Local PD are holding the body for us. Get your gear, we're heading out." And Gibbs walked off, leaving the others to scrabble together their kit and follow him.

Xxxxxxxx

Kate was having a bad day. Charlotte had been reluctant to go to school today. She wouldn't say why, but had been trying to convince Kate she was ill. When Kate had taken her temperature for the fourth time (and it was not even slightly high), she made the decision that Charlotte was going to school. She suspected there was a problem, but she wasn't prepared to deal with it when she was running late for work herself.

So, having dropped off Charlotte, she was driving up the school drive. Slightly late for her as she liked a cup of tea before she headed off to lessons, but she was still in time. Unfortunately, she was currently following an NCIS truck. Which then stopped. Kate swore under her breath and hoped it would move out of the way. However it didn't.

Kate was just trying to work out how she was going to get past, when a female agent got out and started to walk towards her. Kate watched as Gibbs, Tony and McGee also got out of the truck. Things could not get any worse, she thought. The female agent walked up to Kate's window, which Kate opened.

"Is there a problem?" Kate asked, "only I'm trying to get to work," as she gestured toward the school.

"No problem," the agent responded. "We are just investigating, Miss.."

"Smith." Kate responded swiftly. The female agent nodded and waved Kate through. As Kate drove past the other agents she made sure she turned her head away. Even so, she heard a gasp and felt his eyes on the back of her head. She knew he had seen her. She knew he had suspicions, but hoped he wasn't paying too much attention. She pulled into the car park and got out of her car. She had 15 minutes before her first lesson and she dashed inside to get sorted. This was going to be a difficult day, she just knew it!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you for your reviews, comments and just generally following!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything NCIS related, or to do with schools, etc.**

**Chapter 4**

Tony had seen someone who looked like Kate drive past. But he had to be seeing things. He had buried her a long time ago. The woman who drove past obviously just had Kate's looks he reasoned. He heard Gibbs behind him and turned around.

"You ok Tony?" Gibbs asked. Tony was immediately suspicious.

"Yeah, Boss. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you look like you saw a ghost, DiNozzo!" Tony thought about it, then responded:

"You know the car that just drove past?" Gibbs nodded, "Well, if I didn't know better, I would have sworn I saw Kate."

Gibbs wasted no time before giving instructions. This was the lead he had been waiting for since he had spoken to Abby about locating Kate.

"DiNozzo, get in there and get a list of all staff working there. We need to know who these people are."

He watched Tony walk towards the school and sighed. He hoped this would be more successful than the last set of instructions he had given.

Tony arrived at reception and made use of his charm on the receptionist. He took the staff list he was offered and browsed through the list. Number 8 on the list caught his eye – "DiNozzo, Mrs K". He stopped and turned back to the receptionist.

"Um, you couldn't tell me where I might find Mrs DiNozzo at this moment?" he asked. The receptionist swiftly looked up the information and gave Tony the room number with directions on how to find it. Tony stode off down the corridor and found the location. The room had a row of windows down the side allowing Tony to look into the classroom and watch the teacher at work. She was familiar. She had the same mannerisms as Kate. Then she looked up and their eyes met. Tony froze. He was staring at Kate. This was definitely his wife. The woman he had thought dead for 7 years. She looked back at him, looking similar to a rabbit caught in a car's headlights. For a moment there was nothing but just the two of them, staring at each other. Then she was distracted by someone in the class asking her questions, and she turned to deal with it. The moment was lost and Tony broke out of his reverie. For a minute he thought about going in there, but the agent in him realised this wouldn't get the answers he wanted. And so, with a sigh, Tony walked off to find Gibbs and give him the news.

Kate managed to get through the rest of the lessons until lunch time without any other incident. She was on edge the whole time expecting Gibbs and Tony to come barging through the door into the room but nothing happened. About 5 minutes after the bell for lunch had gone, Jane appeared at the door. Jane was an English teacher based just down the corridor and they often met for lunch.

"Hey, Kate! You coming for lunch?" Jane asked

"Yeah, I'll just grab my purse," and Kate grabbed her bags and followed Jane into the corridor. They talked about nothing much the whole way to the staff room and sat down in a corner of the room. The whole time, Kate was on edge and so had chosen a corner out of sight of the door to sit – she didn't need a seen if NCIS decided to come looking for her here.

As if her thoughts could summon them, Gibbs did then walk through the door alongside the Principal. Shaun Willis, the Principal, addressed the staff.

"Good afternoon all. I just need to inform you of an update to the investigation ongoing in the grounds. As you are probably aware, a dead marine was found in the grounds this morning. Agent Gibbs here, and his team from NCIS are investigating and will probably need to speak to you regarding their investigation. They are just investigating to see if anyone has any information that could lead them to conclude their investigation. I have agreed we will all co-operate fully, and so you may be asked to join them at a point during today or tomorrow. They will try to see you when you do not have classes, but I will be arranging for classes to be covered if they need it. I trust you will all be supportive of NCIS whilst they investigate." Then Shaun nodded to the staff and left the staff room.

Gibbs scanned the room, but not seeing Kate in obvious sight, followed Shaun out the door.

Kate, from her hiding spot behind the pillar in the corner of the room, let out a long breath. She had been holding her breath almost since Gibbs walked into the room. Jane eyed her suspiciously.

"What is going on Kate?" Jane asked.

"Nothing."

"Then why are you hiding from that agent?" Kate looked hard at Jane. Could she trust her? If she told Jane the truth, and she really did want to confide in someone, how would that change her relationship with Jane? It was a difficult situation to be in, and one Kate didn't feel ready to tell all about.

"That agent was my husband's boss," she told Jane. Jane thought her husband had died in the line of duty, but she had never expanded on what his actual job was.

"So Tony was NCIS?" she asked. Kate nodded and this seemed to satisfy Jane's curiosity. Kate looked at the time and decided to head back to prepare for next lesson. She spoke to Jane, who decided that she was going to stay and grab a coffee first, so Kate left on her own. She wandered down the corridor suddenly felt a hand on her arm. Kate jumped and turned around to find herself face-to-face with Gibbs with Tony, McGee and another agent standing directly behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Another chapter. The Tate will be there for the next chapter, but I felt that we had to go through hurt before we got to romance!**

**Disclamer: Do not own!**

**Chapter 5**

When Gibbs had stood in the staff room he had looked for Kate. He could sense in his gut that she was in the room, but he couldn't see her. So he left with the Principal and started to walk out of the buildings. Tony had known where he was and had come to meet him, so Gibbs hadn't actually gone too far away from the staff room when he was stopped.

"So?" Tony asked Gibbs when he caught him.

"So what, DiNozzo?"

"Was Kate there? Did you see her?" Tony asked, Gibbs looked at him.

"She was there. She was hiding somewhere." Tony was about to ask further questions when McGee and Ziva arrived.

"Boss, Ducky has taken the body and we've finished processing the evidence of the scene." McGee told him, "What do you want us to do now?"

Gibbs was about to fill them all in on needing to talk to the staff but he heard footsteps coming down the corridor. He signalled his agents to be quiet and waited for the person to approach round the corner. He saw Kate before she saw him and grabbed her arm. She visibly jumped at the touch before turning around to see who it was. He saw her visibly compose herself, hiding all emotions from her face.

"Gibbs," Kate said.

"Kate," Gibbs acknowledged and then pulled her towards a meeting room opposite him. Tony followed. McGee and Ziva also went to follow, but were stopped by the death stares from both Gibbs and Tony. The three entered the room and Tony shut the door behind them. Kate released herself from Gibbs' grasp and took herself to the furthest corner of the room.

"What do you want Gibbs?" She asked.

"Where you been Kate?" Gibbs asked in response. Tony stood at the far end of the room with his arms folded. Kate looked at him; she could tell he was angry. She knew why and it hurt her to see him this way.

"England," Kate aimed her response back to Gibbs. 'Just don't look at Tony,' she thought to herself.

"Why did you do it, Kate?" Gibbs now asked. Kate said nothing.

"WHY?" Gibbs shouted, slamming his fist down on the table in front of him. Kate jumped back from him, visibly shocked.

"I didn't. I had no control over what happened. It just happened to me, and there was nothing I could do about it. And I shouldn't be talking to you. If they find out, I'll be sent back to England with another new name, and that will be it," Kate was babbling. She realised this and pursed her lips closed. She was not going to say anything more.

"Who are they?" Gibbs now asked. Kate shook her head, her lips still closed. She was not going to say anything more. Luckily, she was saved by a receptionist walking into the room.

"Ever so sorry to disturb you, but I have an important message," the receptionist started before turning to Kate.

"Charlotte's school phoned. She had a fall down some stairs and they aren't sure whether she broke her arm. They've taken her to hospital to get her checked out and they're expecting you to meet them there."

Kate swore under her breath, turned to the receptionist and thanked her for the message. The receptionist left and Kate then looked at Gibbs.

"I've got to go."

"Tony will go with you," Gibbs replied. Kate looked at Tony.

"No. I can't be seen with you," she said. She walked to Tony and stood in front of him. Kate slowly reached out and touched Tony's cheek. He flinched back from her touch and Kate knew then that he wouldn't forgive her.

"I'm so sorry," she said to Tony, trying to hold back the tears, "I love you."

Kate turned around before Tony could see the tears and walked out of the room. At the car she leant against it and closed her eyes, letting the tears fall. It had hurt her to see Tony in this state – she had never meant for this to happen. She just wanted Tony to be safe. Of course, Charlotte had become as important and she had needed to keep Charlotte safe, which now meant that Tony was hurting. Why did it all have to be so difficult? With a sigh, Kate brushed the tears from her eyes and got into her car, driving towards the hospital where her daughter was.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks for reviews/comments. Finally the Tate starts...ish. More to come.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with NCIS. Also, the song was taken from Lady Antebellum - just keep hearing it on the radio and it seemed to fit so well!**

**Chapter 6**

Having interviewed most of the staff on site, Tony, Ziva and McGee eventually arrived back at NCIS. Ziva and McGee had not asked about Kate, and Tony and Gibbs had not supplied any information. Now Tony searched for the hospital number and started dialling. Ziva listened in to Tony's telephone conversation.

"Hello, yes, I was wondering if you could help me."

"My daughter, Charlotte DiNozzo, was brought in earlier."

"Yes, I know my message is probably out of date."

"Is that the case? Thank you very much for your time." Tony rang off and saw Ziva watching him.

"What?" he asked Ziva.

"Could I ask what your conversation was about, Tony?"

"Nope," he replied, "I will see you tomorrow." And Tony walked towards the elevator. Ziva looked at McGee, who looked back at her.

"What exactly is going on McGee?" she asked.

"Well, the woman they went off with was exactly like Kate. Maybe it was Kate, although I'm not sure how as we all saw her die. Not sure who Charlotte is though." McGee shrugged at Ziva.

"I do not like this McGee." Ziva said. "It does not feel right."

Tony stood outside Kate's apartment. He looked at the time. 1.15 am. Was she awake?

_It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now_

He noticed lights on in the main window. Perhaps she was there?

_Said I wouldn't come but I lost all control and I need you now_

Tony got out of the car and walked up to the door. He had desperately tried not to come. His phone call to the hospital had been a hunch to see if Charlotte was Kate's daughter. He was now convinced this was the case as they had confirmed her name. However, he had no further details about Charlotte or Kate, save for the address given by the school. And finally the curiosity had got the better of him. He needed to know. He needed to see Kate.

_And I don't know how I can do without. I just need you now._

He hesitated and then knocked on the door gently. He waited, holding his breath. Had she heard him? Then the door opened a crack and Kate looked out at him.

"Tony!"

"Kate. Could I come in?" he asked. She studied him carefully.

"I don't know,"

"Kate, please. I need to talk to you." Tony was now begging.

"Tony, it's not safe," she said, closing the door on him.

"Kate, I'm not leaving," Tony called through the door. "I shall stay here until you open the door again. If it is not safe, then surely it is better for me to be in there with you than sitting on your doorstep?" Tony sat down.

Slowly the door opened.

"Well I suppose you had better come in," Kate responded.

Tony walked in to the lounge and sat on the couch that was visible. Kate checked the outside for any followers, then followed Tony into the lounge and sat next to him. Tony studied Kate carefully.

"What happened Kate?" Tony asked. Kate looked back at Tony. Could she tell him? He was her husband – at least she believed he still was, she wasn't sure if he had been made to sign the divorce papers under a false pretence. Well, she might as well tell him, she thought.

"I was shot in the head, but at point blank range and with something like a paint-ball device," Kate started.

"Apparently there was a man on the roof that you never discovered. He shot me before Ari had the chance to. The device had some sort of heart-beat stopper in it that made it look like I was dead. Ducky was half way back to NCIS when he was hi-jacked and I was swapped for a body that looked like me. Ducky was threatened to stop him talking. I knew nothing until about 5 days later when I woke up in hospital in New York. 2 days after that I was on a plane to England and was held there. I was unable to leave, told that it was too dangerous and that you would die if I didn't do as I was told. And so I stayed in England. It was only last year, when they told me you were settled and all was clear that I decided to come back to the US. Even then I was threatened not to talk to you." By this point Kate was crying. Tony couldn't help it, he had to reach out and brush the tears from Kate's face. No matter how angry he felt, he was starting to mellow. But he had to know about Charlotte.

"Kate? Who is Charlotte?" Tony asked.

"Your daughter, Tony. I only found out I was pregnant when I arrived in England. I didn't know what to do when I found out I was pregnant. The embassy helped me find a job supporting in a school and helped me to get a degree. I used this to train to teach – it was difficult with a baby, but I needed to earn money and support us. I wanted to come home and show you your daughter, but I wasn't allowed. There were too many risks to all of us. So we stayed in England. Charlotte didn't sleep for the first 8 months..." Kate left off there. She felt that Tony didn't need any more. He looked upset at the revelation.

"You kept her from me?" Tony almost growled at Kate.

"I tried not to. We sent you a Christmas card every year. I hoped you would use this to investigate and find us." Kate replied. Tony thought back. He had assumed the card from Kate had been a horrid joke and ignored them. It had never occurred to him that Kate had been trying to contact him. He felt stupid for not realising this and reached out to her. Kate responded and soon their lips locked against each other.

At first their kiss was gentle; it was a test of whether they were still the same people. But it soon became deeper. They had realised how much they missed each other and how much they meant to each other. It soon became clear that the feelings were still there as they struggled to find oxygen, but refused to let go. Tony eventually let go enough to collect Kate up in his arms.

"Which room?" he asked.

"2nd on left," Kate responded. Tony headed in that direction, opened the door and laid Kate on the bed. He looked at her.

"I love you," he whispered at her.

"I love you too," she whispered back. And they spent the night together for the first time in 7 years.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: There may be some things in this chapter that don't make sense yet, it will hopefully make sense in later chapters. Thanks for messages/reviews.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything NCIS related.**

Chapter 7

The clock on the bedside showed the time as 5am. An hour after she had last looked at the clock. She sighed and decided to get up as she was clearly not going to sleep any further now. Ziva David had found it difficult to sleep the whole evening. After Tony had left work, she had remained there for only another few minutes herself before persuading Gibbs that she needed home. However, the delay had been enough to have missed Tony at the car. Few people knew that Ziva and Tony had recently started seeing each other. At first it had been just movies or drinks after work, but this had gradually been developing and Tony frequently waited at the car in the evenings for Ziva to join him so that they could discuss their evening's plans out of earshot of Gibbs. Abby knew. She had managed to get Ziva to talk soon after things became more than friends. But, now that Ziva thought of it, Abby had seemed a bit funny about the relationship over the last couple of days. It was almost as though she had had second thoughts about the wisdom of the relationship and kept glaring at Ziva whenever she and Tony were in Abby's lab together.

The reason for Ziva's lack of sleep had been Tony's strange behaviour yesterday. A lady resembling (and quite probably was) Kate, their former team mate, had suddenly appeared at the scene. This seemed to have caused a complete change in Tony and he had barely acknowledged Ziva. Whenever she had tried to talk to him, he had walked away or told her it was none of her business. On returning home last night, she had tried calling him. But he was not answering. She had even tried going round to his apartment, but he had clearly not been there. And Ziva had had no choice but to return to her own place and attempt to get some sleep. Ziva now headed for the shower. She would get up, then try Tony again and see if she could catch up with him before either of them got to work.

Kate was awoken by a strange noise. It was the sound of a phone, but not hers. She felt an arm around her and initially panicked before remembering the night before. She snuggled into Tony's warmth a bit more, she had missed this – had missed him she corrected herself. She would probably miss him again as soon as her agent realised what had happened. And then she would be settling herself and Charlotte back into new schools in England knowing that they could never return. Kate shut her eyes tight against the thoughts. She wasn't going to think of that at the moment, she was going to savour these memories with Tony whilst she could. However, the phone continued to ring and, wishing not to wake her daughter at only 5.30 in the morning, Kate moved out of bed, grabbed a wrap to pull around her and wandered into the lounge to collect Tony's ringing mobile. She checked the display before cancelling the call and took the phone back into her room. If Ziva was going to keep calling, and she suspected it would not be long before this person tried again, then Tony could deal with it. Back in her room, she tried to sneak back into bed for another few minutes of warmth with Tony, who snuggled up to her.

"Morning beautiful." Tony spoke into her back. Kate smiled and turned in his arms.

"Morning." She kissed him as he pulled her close. The sound of his phone made Tony groan and sink further under the bed covers. Kate laughed.

"I don't think it will work. That phone has been ringing for the last five minutes," she told Tony and handed him the phone. Tony flipped it open and answered without checking the display.

"DiNozzo." He suddenly sat upright in bed.

"Oh, hi Ziva. How are you?" Kate frowned. Something about the tone of voice Tony was using said he hiding something. 'Get a grip, Kate' she thought to herself, 'you've been apart for 7 years, it was you who left and kept secrets.' However, she was still finding it difficult to not be hurt as Tony continued a conversation. Clearly, he was supposed to have been meeting someone for breakfast this morning. Deciding she could not listen anymore, Kate got out of bed again and went to the kitchen to boil the kettle. She was just making a pot of tea (she had become a tea drinker in England, and had found it hard to give up the ritual) when she heard the movement of two people. Charlotte appeared in the kitchen first.

"Morning Mum," she greeted Kate with a smile.

"Morning honey," Kate replied, "How is your arm today?" Charlotte held up her arm, complete with a plaster cast for Kate to inspect.

"It itches!" she complained. She took a long-handle spoon from the drawer and pushed the handle down the cast trying to settle her itch. She looked up as she saw Tony enter the room. Although dressed, it was clear by the lack of socks and shoes that Tony had stayed over. At least it was to Kate. As there had never been another man stay over, she couldn't say whether Charlotte would realise. Charlotte stared at Tony.

"Mum?" Charlotte asked, "Is that my Dad?" She turned to look at Kate, who nodded. Charlotte turned back to Tony and, initially wary, walked up and prodded him.

"It's really you? You came? Is it safe now? Did you get all the bad people and that's why you've come for us?" The questions tumbled out of Charlotte's mouth. Tony crouched down to be level with his daughter, the thought hitting him hard – he was a Dad! He looked at her carefully. She looked like Kate. And then Charlotte threw herself at Tony, nearly taking his legs out from beneath him. She flung her arms around his neck as best she could with one in plaster, and held on tightly.

"Do you have to leave again?" she asked her Dad. Tony looked at Kate for help. She was smiling wistfully, tears clearly forming in her eyes. He had always hated it when she cried. And he had no intention of letting these two go again. He scooped up Charlotte and walked towards Kate, pulling her into the hug as well.

"I think it's time we became a proper family," Tony told them both. They stayed together for a minute more until Kate had composed herself to push away from them and announce that they all still had to go to school and work today, so they had better get a move on. Reluctantly Tony let go of his girls and Charlotte dragged him over to the table where the cereal was out for her breakfast. She made her breakfast, talking all the time about her new school and new friends and then about the friends she had in England and the summer holiday to visit them in a few months time. They were interrupted by Tony's phone ringing again. Tony got up from the table, dropped a kiss on the top of Charlotte's head and walked off as he answered the phone.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you again for all your support and reviews. Hopefully I won't disappoint. I know things still won't make all sense this chapter, but hopefully the next chapter will answer a lot of questions.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, etc.**

Chapter 8

While Tony was on the phone, Kate took her shower. As she entered her bedroom, she found Tony walking in to join her. She smiled at him.

"Kate, Gibbs wants to speak to you." Tony came over and pulled her into his arms.

"When?"

"As soon as possible."

"I can't yet Tony. I need to phone my agent. We need to face the possibility that Charlotte and I may not be able to stay in DC. We need to talk things through." Kate responded, pulling away from Tony and getting dressed. She watched as something flashed across his face, not sure whether it was hurt or confusion. She couldn't let herself get too attached. She knew she was also keeping information from Tony, but she had to call in first. Still, it didn't help her emotions.

"I know Katie. That's what I told Gibbs, that you and I need to talk first. That we will see him when I understand the whole situation." Tony continued talking to her, ignoring his feelings. Kate sighed.

"I promise we'll talk Tony. I know we need to work all this out and work out where we stand with each other. We just need to do it in good time and not with Charlotte around." Kate hoped this was enough for Tony for now. He nodded to show he understood.

"I'm going to jump in your shower, if that's ok?" he asked. Kate nodded, flinging him a spare towel as he headed to her en-suite. Then she picked up the phone and dialled. She spoke to various people before she was put through to the person she needed to speak to. Her agent, Bob Thornton.

"Hi Bob, this is Kate DiNozzo, number 33789. I need to meet. I've been compromised."

"Heck Kate, what the hell is going on?" Bob asked. He had always trusted Kate, she had been fantastic since being assigned to his team 7 years ago. He needed this last section to go well.

"Who is it?" Bob then asked.

"NCIS – Gibbs, DiNozzo and McGee. They know I'm alive Bob." Kate responded. "I really didn't need this now – I was waiting for the sign-off from the agency, is there any way we can bring it forward? I could really do without having to go through the whole name-change thing again." Bob sighed at this. He didn't have the authority.

"You're going to have to come in Kate and talk to Morrow. This goes above me now, but maybe Morrow will be sympathetic. After all, you two know each other. When can you get here? I think he's free after 9."

"No can do, Bob. It's exam day for my kids and I need to be there. I can do after 4pm, but anything earlier is going to be suspicious. And I can't do before lunch as I need to deal with any last minute exam issues before lunch."

Bob sighed again. He wished he had more of a handle on Kate, but this had never been the case – she had always done as she wished.

"Ok Kate, get here when you can. I'll make sure Morrow is available after 4 to meet him, but don't be too late."

"Ok Bob. I'll be there as soon as possible after school." Kate rung off, unaware that Tony had been listening to a large part of that conversation. She walked out of her bedroom and went to get Charlotte ready for school, completely oblivious to Tony's concern. He quickly dressed, grateful that he had spare clothes in his car and had collected them earlier. He walked out to join Kate and Charlotte in the lounge, with the laptop playing a radio station he had never heard of.

"Hey Daddy," Charlotte called, spotting Tony first. "Mum says you won't know about radio in England, but I always have it on in the morning."

"Hey darling! Have to admit that I have no idea about English radio. What are you listening to?"

"Heart," Charlotte responded, and then shouted something at the radio. Kate came in from the kitchen area and laughed.

"It's time we went to school Sweetheart," she told Charlotte and went to turn off the laptop. She then turned round and started gathering up several bags of books, papers and various different stationery. Tony looked at Kate in amusement.

"Do you always take that much to work?" He asked.

"No, normally more," Kate responded with a shrug.

"Wow!" And then he thought carefully. A frown formed on his face.

"Kate, do you have to go to work today?"

"Not you as well Tony! We have an exam today. I have to be there for the kids." She exclaimed.

"Sorry Kate, it's just that Gibbs does want to see you today. I thought we might be able to have a chat first. Hadn't realised you had become a real teacher!" and he shone a 100 megawatt smile at her

"Tony," she began, "we need to get through today. I love you but we do need to sort things out, and I can't do this until after today. We'll catch up later." Kate then turned to Charlotte.

"Come on lovely. It's time to go." Charlotte grabbed her bags and walked out the door. Kate smiled at Tony and signalled to the door. He stopped and wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you Katie. Whatever you do today, remember that. I cannot lose you again and I have no intention of doing so." Then Tony kissed her on the top of her head. Kate sighed. They separated and got into their cars. Kate to take Charlotte to school and then onto her own school. Tony to head back to NCIS.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: This is more of a scene-setting chapter. The big reveal is going to happen in the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of this. I just like writing stories borrowing other people's characters.**

Tony completed the drive to NCIS on autopilot. He was too busy thinking about how yesterday and all the new information. Kate was alive! He had spent 7 long years trying to accept her death, and now she wasn't even dead. He realised he still did not understand what had happened in the last 7 years, why her death had been faked and why she had been sent to England. Last night there had been too much lust involved – it was clear they both found the other attractive and they had ended up in bed together not long after Tony arrived. With the lateness of his arrival and the need for Kate to be at work the following morning, there hadn't been much time for talking (or sleeping, and he was really feeling tired today). Adding the tiredness and the emotional wreck that he was feeling, he would be surprised if he could function properly at all today. Hopefully Gibbs would be easy on him!

Tony's thoughts turned to this morning and the phone call from Ziva as well. This was going to be difficult. He had only recently found himself able to see any other woman on a personal level and Ziva seemed to help him in those first steps to a relationship since he'd lost Kate. He cared for Ziva and didn't want to cause her any hurt. However, Kate had always been the love of his life. She was the only one he could have seen spending his whole life with and to have her back – no matter what the circumstances – he couldn't let the chance pass him by. He was not going to Kate leave him again. Just, how could he tell this to Ziva? Everything was such a mess!

Tony had arrived at the Navy Yard and parked the car. As he put his keys into his pocket, his hands found a piece of paper. He pulled it out and looked at it, remembering when Kate had given him this just before he left her this morning. They had been saying goodbye at her car, reluctantly in Tony's case. Just as she had gone to get in the car, she had pushed a piece of paper into Tony's hand.

_"Just take it, don't look at it now," Kate had whispered to him, kissing him on the cheek as she did so._

_"What is it?" Tony had asked her, pushing it into his pocket swiftly._

_"If we go missing again... if you realise that Charlotte and I are no longer around, it is where you will find us." _

Tony had been confused, but Kate had got into the car and left so he had no more time to question her further. Now he opened the piece of paper and stared at it. It was an address. It was handwritten and Tony recognised it as being Kate's own handwriting. But clearly the address was not in America as it was unfamiliar. Scanning through, he realised that the letters 'UK' were written at the bottom. So Kate really did think she would be sent back to England. There was something not quite right here, but Tony could not tell what, so he decided to head into the building knowing that he was late and everyone else would probably be wanting to know what the hell was going on.

Sure enough, as Tony stepped off the elevator later he realised that the rest of the team were already there, as was Abby and Palmer.

"Tony!" Abby squealed and ran towards him, throwing her arms around him. "She's really back? Kate's really back? Why didn't she come with you?"

"Hey, calm down Abbs! Need to breathe!" Tony responded, grateful when the squeeze was released and Abby stood there waiting for him. Waiting for an answer that Tony really didn't have.

"Well?" she eventually demanded, "Where is she?"

"At work, at the school. Teaching!" Abby frowned at Tony's response.

"And you didn't think to persuade her to come into NCIS instead? This is her home Tony. We miss her! Why do you get priority over her?"

"Because Abby, Tony and Kate are married," was the response behind her.

"Gibbs! That is so not true! Kate would have told me..." Abby started and then trailed off as she looked between the two men. "It's true isn't it?" Abby now asked Tony, who nodded. Abby stared at him.

"Sorry Abs. It was Kate who wanted to keep quiet. She was going to tell you the day she died... Gibbs only knows because I confided in him after her death. Not even our families knew."

"C'mon," Gibbs now took control and nodded towards the Bullpen where the others were still waiting. The three walked in that direction.

"Right," Gibbs said as they arrived with the rest of the team, "dead Marine found in school grounds. What have we got?"

The team then focused back on the case. Palmer, stepping in for Ducky as he was in hospital, was able to say he had been stabbed many times, but had been moved to the school. He found some unusual bruising on the body, but was not able to identify the cause as yet. Ziva and McGee had name, service record and family details. There was nothing to stand out as to why he would have been murdered. Nobody in the school had seen anything, assuming that Kate also hadn't since none of the team had actually interviewed her about the body. Gibbs issued instructions then headed off the Directors office. He had a feeling in his gut that something wasn't right, and it was more than just a dead agent appearing many years after her 'death'.

Ziva had not been surprised to see Tony arrive late this morning. She was convinced that Tony had spent the night with the 'Kate' woman. She was more convinced when she saw how tired he looked, how much he seemed to sag as though the whole thing was physically weighing on his shoulders. The conversation held out of her hearing between Tony, Abby and Gibbs also made her suspicious. She watched Abby keep giving Tony pointed looks whenever he looked in her direction, and she saw Tony shake his head at her as if telling Abby 'now was not the time'. Perhaps Abby would tell her what was going on. She made the decision that later she would go and find Abby, if she didn't manage to get anything out of Tony. She watched Tony tapping away at his computer from a piece of paper, then stared at the image looking completely lost in thought. At that moment McGee chose to go off in search of some information from Abby, leaving the two of them alone. Ziva got up and wandered over to see what Tony was doing.

Tony had found the temptation too much. Knowing that McGee was focused and not paying any attention to him, and that Ziva couldn't see what he was doing, he typed in the code at the bottom of the address. 'Not a zip code' he told himself, although he was not sure what they called them in the UK. He found himself staring at a map showing a town on the sea. He investigated further until he saw a picture of the house. It was an old house with views of the sea. 'I can see Kate loving this' he thought to himself.

"What are you doing Tony?" Ziva's voice next to his ear made him jump. He hadn't heard her get up and stand next to him.

"Just looking! Trying to understand what the appeal of England is," Tony said as his heartbeat started to recover from the shock.

"I didn't realise our marine had been to England?" Ziva frowned. She was sure she hadn't missed anything, and this was confirmed when Tony shook his head at her.

"No, he hadn't. Just something someone said to me."

"Tony," Ziva started thinking she really had to know now, "What is going on?" Tony looked at her this time.

"I can't talk about it Ziva. Sorry, but I can't." Not being able to cope anymore with the conversation Tony got up and headed out of the bullpen. Anywhere to be away from the questions at the moment.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: See all previous chapters.**

**A/N: Thank you for reading. Any reviews would be appreciated!**

**Chapter 10**

It was break when Kate had a chance to think through the previous 24 hours. As she tidied up after her last class, Jane appeared at the door. She looked around the room, then came in and closed the door, sitting herself at the edge of a desk.

"Hi Kate, how is Charlotte?" Jane started.

"She's fine really. Broke her arm and really impressed with the cast she got from the hospital."

"So," Jane hesitated, and Kate thought how unusual this was for Jane, "I met Tony. He's not dead, is he Kate?" Kate had her back to Jane and froze. She didn't have a response to that. Luckily Jane wasn't really expecting a response and she continue to talk to Kate.

"I don't know what is going on Kate, but I thought we were friends. It seems a massive secret to keep to yourself, to pretend your husband is dead!" Kate turned round to face Jane at this.

"Jane, I'm sorry you had to find out the hard way. I couldn't tell anyone about this. I was put into witness protection 7 years ago as there was a terrorist chasing the team and trying to kill us. Tony was told I was dead, and it was the reason I spent all those years in England. This year is a transition, seeing if the threat was still there before I was allowed to contact Tony again."

"Kate, I'm sorry. I didn't realise..." Jane started. Kate shrugged.

"It's ok. I've had to get used to it. This wasn't the way I planned seeing Tony again, it's been a shock for both of us."

"He seemed pretty angry," Jane admitted, "when he realised we were friends he started asking about you, whether you were involved in anyone, how long you'd been in the states and what you were like now."

"That does not surprise me..." but they were cut off by the bell for next class. Jane gave her friend a brief hug to let her know she was there for her and then left for her own class.

"What have you got?" Gibbs asked Palmer as he walked into autopsy. He'd had a long conversation with Director Vance about the appearance of Kate and what the hell had happened. Vance himself wasn't aware of anything and had spent a good hour calming Gibbs down so that he wouldn't go running off to find out himself and destroy relationships with other agencies. He had promised Gibbs he would investigate and let him know. But that had been 4 hours ago and so far Gibbs had been given nothing. He had promised he would do nothing about Kate, but this was getting harder as the time went on. In the meantime, he still had a marine's death to investigate.

"Well..." Palmer started, "the bruises on the body are worrying me. I think they may be a message but I can't work out what it could be. They are post-mortem and I think may have been created by something similar to a Taser gun." Gibbs nodded and looked at the images of the marks that Palmer had taken.

"Get these to Abby, see if she can make out any code hidden in these." Gibbs instructed before walking out. Palmer walked over to the phone and called Abby to tell her about Gibbs' instructions.

As Gibbs walked towards the elevator, he received a call to go straight to Vance. 'Finally an answer' he thought and headed straight there. As he walked past the bullpen he realised all 3 of his agents were barely speaking – this case was putting a lot of pressure on Tony emotionally and clearly the others were affected. He would be grateful when the truth was sorted and they could return to normal.

"McGee," Gibbs called as he walked past, "go help Abby with some photos from the body." McGee got up and started heading for the elevator.

"Where you going Boss?" Tony asked. He didn't want to be alone with Ziva at the moment. He couldn't cope with her questions still, emotionally he was a wreck and he knew it.

"See the Director, DiNozzo. I want to know why this marine was killed, we have nothing at the moment."

Gibbs walked past the team and carried on up the stairs. He knew in his gut that this marine was something to do with Kate, he just couldn't work out what the link was. On arriving at the Director's office, Cynthia sent him straight through.

"Gibbs," Director Leon Vance greeted as Gibbs walked in.

"Director," Gibbs responded.

"I've spoken to every agency going and finally got something from Homeland. They've told us to back off from Kate. Apparently our actions could potentially be putting her in danger and they've made me promise that for today at least there will be no contact."

"What about Tony? He and Kate are married and he's finding this difficult enough. I can't tell him he can't see Kate again."

"No, and I've already had this conversation. Director Morrow will be in contact through video link this afternoon. They have an undercover agent coming in this afternoon and I've been promised we will be in when they debrief. Make sure you and the team are in MTAC for 4.15pm"

"Ok, Director. " Gibbs turned to leave, then turned back, "Thank you," he said as he left the office.

"What have you got Abbs?" Gibbs asked as he, Tony and Ziva entered the lab.

"Oh, boss man. This is big!" Abby said and waited for them to gather round her screen.

"So Tim and I looked at these markings and eventually worked out that they are Morse Code. Then we worked out the letters and, well, you're not going to like it." Abby shot Gibbs and Tony a glance.

"What does it say Abby?" Gibbs asked. Abby flicked up the meaning of the code on the screen. They saw the letters appear on the photo of the markings, and were able to work out the whole message: 'I AM COMING FOR YOU TODD'

"Kate," the word was barely a whisper from Tony's lips. Why was there a message for Kate? She had to be in trouble.

"Boss, we need to do something. I need to tell her..." Gibbs' hand on Tony's shoulder stopped him.

"We can't Tony. We're under orders to have no contact with Kate directly until other things have been sorted."

"What other things? What the hell is going on?" Tony was getting angry now. It seemed he had only just been told there was a chance of happiness again and now it was being taken away. Is this what Kate had meant when she had thrust that address at her this morning? Were they – whoever 'they' were – going to take her away again because she still wasn't safe?

"Wish I knew, DiNozzo. Vance has told us to be in MTAC at 4.15. We're supposed to get some answers when an undercover agent comes in for debriefing." Tony looked at his watch. Half an hour to go! How on earth was he going to cope?

"I'm going for coffee," he announced to nobody in particular, and walked out of the lab. The rest of the team watched Tony storm out.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters**

**A/N: Thanks for all reviews received. This chapter should explain what has been happening for the whole time Kate has been away.**

**Chapter 11**

At 4pm Kate and Charlotte entered the agency office. She spoke to the receptionist and then went up to meet Bob in his office. Charlotte went off to sit in the corner of the room to get out her activity books.

"Hi Kate," Bob stood and embraced her. "You're really scaring everyone at the moment!" Kate smiled.

"I know Bob. This wasn't planned. You know I want the sign-off from Homeland security so that I can concentrate on teaching. I just want to get my life back on track. I really didn't need all of this now."

"I know things are difficult. However, we are concerned that this body isn't a coincidence. We think Fedorov is behind it and that he is on to you."

"I have no doubt about that." Kate replied. She had been tracking Fedorov, a Russian militant, for the last 4 years. In fact, it was his recent movement into the US that had allowed Kate to move back. But comments and sudden changes that were being made to the groups she had infiltrated meant that she had been getting suspicious. She had been pretty convinced that the dead marine being found at her school had not been a coincidence but a way to take her eye away while something went down. She just wasn't sure what exactly was happening that they didn't want her to know about.

"Well," Bob continued, "Director Morrow is very worried. He wants to talk to you about next steps. I think he is planning to pull you out of this." Kate shrugged. She actually didn't care about being pulled out of the case. She had made up her mind to retire from being a federal agent and she loved teaching. That was what she wanted to do now. At that point, Director Tom Morrow walked into the room.

"Kate! How lovely to see you again! Come through both of you. We're in a video conference in 5 minutes. Do you have your notes Kate? We will need your input on what Fedorov is up to." Kate nodded, and the three walked into the next room.

Just before 4.15, Vance, Gibbs and the rest of the team walked into MTAC. Tony had returned with coffee and remained in the bullpen with the rest of the team until their time to go into MTAC. As they had been waiting, Gibbs had come and stood in front of Tony's desk.

"How are you holding up?" he asked.

"As good as can be expected, Gibbs," Tony responded, then continued, "Boss, how do you think you would feel if Shannon suddenly appeared?"

"To be honest, DiNozzo, I don't know. It's not the kind of thing you expect." Tony nodded.

"But it happened to me. What do I do about it?"

"Go with your gut Tony," Gibbs responded. McGee had been listening to this exchange and looked at Tony.

"Um, Tony. Was there something going on with you and Kate?" Tony laughed.

"She was my wife Probie! We were married for about 3 weeks and then she was shot." McGee looked at Tony, shocked.

"And you never told anybody?" Tony shook his head. They sat there in silence for a couple of minutes before Gibbs called them to join him on the way to MTAC – Tony in thought and McGee frantically taking in the new information. What neither of them realised was that there was another person who was also taking in the information silently. Ziva was just behind the screen and had heard every word. She ducked out of sight when Gibbs rounded the corner, making her way into the bullpen from the other side and following on behind the other agents. Nobody realised she had been there.

The four agents and Director Vance gathered around the screen and waited for the transmission from Homeland Security to come in. At exactly 4.15 it did, and none of the team were prepared for who they saw. If Tom Morrow, formerly Director of NCIS noticed, he did not show it.

"Director Vance, Gibbs, Tony, McGee," he nodded to them, "it's good to see the old team again." Gibbs recovered first.

"Director Morrow it's good to see you too. Congratulations on your promotion."

"Thank you Gibbs. Now I'm sure you are all keen to know the situation. We suspect your body is related to our case. Only, I am sure you'll appreciate that a 4-year undercover operation is highly important to us and we need to take this carefully. May I introduce to you Bob Thornton? Bob has been the agent overseeing the whole operation." The agents' acknowledged Bob.

"And then I realise you know Kate. And I realise there are a few questions regarding Kate, in that you all thought Kate died many years ago. And clearly she didn't. Let me just state that Kate is not to blame for any of the secrets, we had our reasons for keeping Kate away from you and, on successful completion of this final mission, she has chosen to retire from federal agency work. However, for the last 7 years she has been in a deep undercover operation which started in England infiltrating a Russian network that we believed to be planning terrorist operations." At this point Gibbs stepped in.

"There were markings on the body of the marine we found. We have determined it was a message in Morse code threatening Kate." Kate paled slightly and spoke up.

"What exactly did the message say?" she asked.

"We'll do better and show you," Vance stepped in and signalled for the image to be displayed. Kate stared at the message and composing herself. She had been convinced the other week that her cover had been blown, but she hadn't realised how much. This changed a lot of things, Kate started going through in her head how she could get herself and Charlotte back onto a plane to England. Although... would that be any safer?

Tony found himself starting at Kate's face. 'What was she thinking?' he wondered. There wasn't a sign on her face now that this news bothered her. It was almost as if she knew this was going to happen. Tony realised he was angry again, but this time angry with Director Morrow. This man was putting his Kate's life at risk. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Tom Morrow started to talk again.

"We had thought that Kate may be compromised from something earlier in the week. Now we know the answer. Rest assured that your dead Marine was just an unfortunate player in a terrorist situation and his death will be punished. There is no need for you to continue your investigation. Our team will add it to their details as we deal with the whole situation. We would be grateful if you would discontinue with your investigation now, since it will only interfere with our agents in bringing down the terrorists. As you will appreciate, there has been a huge amount of resources put into this and we all need to see the closure for this."

"What about Kate?" Tony realised he had voiced his concerns out loud when everyone looked at him.

"I'll be fine Tony."

"Kate will be under protection while we bring the terrorist cell down. We need her to fill us in on all the information she has been gathering whilst undercover, we'll need her to consult on the operation." Tom Morrow stepped in.

"Could we move Kate into NCIS protection?" Gibbs asked then. He was worried about Tony. Morrow hesitated, but Vance backed him up.

"I think a lot of people here need to know what happened. We can give the same level of protection and take some pressure off of your resources." Morrow looked to Kate for agreement, she nodded.

"Ok, but we need to have access to Kate 24/7 in case we need information. We need a full update on information before you go anywhere Kate. Probably about an hour."

"I'll have people with you within the hour." Gibbs replied.

It was agreed then. NCIS would collect Kate from Homeland offices in an hour. The video link was cut and the agents looked at each other. Gibbs couldn't help but smile inwardly when he realised Kate was coming home.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thanks for keeping with the story. This week's chapter is up. **

**Disclaimer: See chapter 1**

**Chapter 12**

Following the revelations from Homeland security, Gibbs' team started to organise the security detail. Agents were brought in from other teams and started to be briefed on what was going on. It was in the hustle of this that Ziva managed to drag Tony away from the others.

"Why did you not tell me you were married Tony?" she asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

"I didn't think I was Ziva!" Tony responded, "Kate was supposed to be dead."

"But you never said you had been married, ever!" Ziva hissed at him. She would likely have shouted, except she was aware that they were still close to other agents and her shouting would only attract attention.

"Heck, Ziva." Tony rubbed his hand over his face. "I didn't tell anyone. Nor did she! We got married in a bit of a rush and hadn't really thought it through. We had only just really decided we were going to make our marriage work when she was shot. I didn't feel that I needed the pity of everyone knowing I was a widower after 3 weeks so I kept it quiet. The only person in her family who knows is her sister Rachel and we both felt it best not to tell her parents and put them through the pain of not being at her wedding."

Ziva was lost for words. It was just something she had not considered could happen.

"How are you feeling?" she eventually asked.

"A bit in shock," Tony admitted. "I'm just trying to get my head around the fact that my wife not only isn't dead but also has been raising our child on her own for the last 7 years!"

"Your child?"

"Yeah, turned out she was pregnant when she was shot! I'm also a Dad to a little girl."

Ziva was hurt. Whilst outwardly she tried not to show it, inside was different. Her emotions were everywhere and she needed to get away from Tony to sort it out. She needed to work out how she felt. Without saying anything, she left and headed for somewhere quiet where she could think things through.

Tony watched her go. 'Shit!' he thought to himself. This was a problem he knew he had caused, although unknowingly. He really hadn't known that Kate was still alive and yet he felt that he should have done. And he really hadn't wanted to hurt Ziva, but Kate had been his true love and there had never been anyone that had come close... well, except maybe Jeanne. He'd made sure to be careful after that one, and now he was the one doing the hurting. He hoped that Ziva wouldn't hold it against him. As he was lost in that thought, he was startled back to reality by his phone ringing.

"DiNozzo," Tony answered.

"Tony," the voice on  
the other end sounded fragile.

"Kate? What's wrong? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine Tony. I, er, just wanted to check. You are coming with us, aren't you?" Tony smiled then. She always wanted to be seen as strong. Only Tony had seen the vulnerable side of her that he was hearing now. He had always wanted to protect her and she had often got cross with him for doing so.

"Do you really think I'd let you get away again?" he asked her. Kate sighed.

"No. I guess I just wanted to check you aren't cross with me. I know it must have been a shock earlier and if I'd known Morrow was going to pull that one I would have made sure I spoke to you first."

"It's ok. Just as long as we get the chance for you to tell me everything later – and I do mean absolutely everything."

"I promise I will," Kate responded, then clearly thought of something extra.

"Tony, I'm going to need to go back to my place and get stuff for Charlotte and myself. Can you make sure Gibbs plans it in?"

"Kate, I'm not sure it's a good idea. How about you tell me what you need and a couple of us will go for you?"

"No good. You are not going to know what I'm talking about and there are papers that I need access to . Pleeeease!" Now it was Tony's turn to sigh. He knew Kate wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Fine. We'll arrange it. Just you two take care."

"We will. See you soon Tony. I love you!" Kate rang off. Tony wondered how he was going to break this one to Gibbs.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thank you for all your reviews. Sorry for the delay - I've been trying to work out how to do this chapter (and managed to delete the story on my computer a few days ago)**

**Disclaimer: I still do not own NCIS or any characters.**

**Chapter 13**

It was nearly 4 hours later when Tony relaxed a little bit. He had spoken to Gibbs, arranged all that Kate needed and had been beside himself with worry as he and Gibbs, with a variety of other agents, had protected Kate in her apartment as she collected what she and Charlotte had needed. There had been several occasions where he had nearly pulled her out of there, but he had managed to stop himself. Finally they had all got themselves to the safe house without, it appeared, any followers. It had helped that they had chosen to stop at the Navy yard and change cars around. Now he and Kate were sat with Gibbs, Ziva, Abby and McGee in the living area of the safe house, with Charlotte safely in bed in one of the bedrooms. There were agents in the two adjoining apartments and in the street watching so he felt fairly safe. Now he could find out what had happened over the last few years since Kate's "death". The five adults looked at each other before Kate spoke.

"So, I suppose you want to know everything?" she asked.

"Would be useful!" commented Gibbs. The others nodded their agreement. Kate thought back to the day she had woken from the coma of the fake bullet. And as she talked, she relived herself the last few years; the pain, happiness and everything in-between:

_She was in a room. Based on the layout and the regular beeping, she assumed it was a hospital room. She was alone at first. Then the door opened and someone came to join her._

_"I see you are awake." Kate looked at the man in front of her._

_"What happened?" she asked._

_"Ehrm... it's rather complicated. We've managed to save your life, we'll need to check on your memory skills and see how you are doing as a shot to the head is never good. We'll go through your memory as we go. However, it's important you eat something first. I'll have a nurse come in with some food and she'll provide some more information." The Doctor left then. _

_It was a few days later when they moved Kate to England. She hadn't been aware of the movement at the time as things over those days were a bit groggy. During the time she had asked over the NCIS team and why she wasn't having any visitors. She had been told that there had been a matter of secrecy that needed to be dealt with first. Kate remembered one day screaming at the nurse about why her husband wasn't visiting, before bursting into loud sobs and needing sedatives to eventually calm her down. She had only vague memories of an aeroplane flight to England and the first few hours there. Her memories started about a week after arriving in England, when she met the Homeland and MI6 agents for the first time – probably when they felt they could get away without sedatives._

_She had been collected from the hotel she was staying in and taken to the MI6 building. There she was introduced to many people she had never met before, including her agent Bob Thornton and, much to her surprise at the time, Tom Morrow – newly assigned Assistant Director of Homeland security. They explained her rescue from Ari, but that he was still a threat to her and NCIS and it was felt better that she was kept away from her life until such a time that no lives were under threat anymore. Kate agreed, although she fought to have a minimal name change and they had agreed to let her use DiNozzo since nobody really knew she and Tony had got married. The idea had been sold to Kate was that she would do a couple of years in England as an agent whilst the Ari issue was dealt with, then would be allowed home again. She was set up in a house next to a lady called Joan, an MI6 operative herself but who, at the age of 65, was really there to support the younger agents. The story was that Joan was her mother-in-law, married to Kate's husbands' father, but had kept her previous name as it was a second marriage. Nobody had ever queried the story and Kate and Joan had become very close, particularly when Kate soon realised she was pregnant._

_Kate's first job in England had been to get close to Scottish man whom they suspected was involved in arms smuggling to terrorists in America. She had spent 3 years getting the information she needed, only to realise he was just a go-between for a Russian man. Her undercover had involved being a teaching assistant in a school where the wife of this man worked. It had been in this role that Kate realised she enjoyed teaching – something she had never considered before. However, the birth of Charlotte 7 months after her arrival in England had cemented the fact that she wasn't so certain about being a federal agent or spy anymore. Unfortunately, she had been in deep undercover by then and couldn't just walk away. Luckily, she had persuaded Homeland to allow her to complete her degree and train to become a teacher as part of her undercover role. This had been an excellent choice when she had needed to get closer to Federov as he had a teenage daughter. Kate (and Joan) had been relocated to the seaside town his family resided in and Kate had taken a post as a teacher in the daughter's school. Three years with teaching in the school and the family had moved to America. Kate had taken that as an opportunity to move back to America herself, although not in the same school. However, she had developed a friendship with Federov's wife through community meetings and luckily it had been Ana who had suggested Kate's move to America. This had meant that Kate had been open about being able to secure a job in Washington and nobody had seen anything odd about this. In fact, only last week, Ana and Kate had met for coffee._

_The only issue had been NCIS. The whole time Kate had been asking when she could go home. She had been told that Ari was still a possible threat, even in his death. _

"But that wasn't true!" Abby interrupted.

"I know that now, Abby. It's a bit difficult to check this out when you are in England. Anyway, the school has offered me a promotion there. I had agreed with Homeland to retire in the summer, regardless of the situation with Federov. In the meantime, I had to stay away from you guys for the next few months. That was until Federov himself started to get involved!" Kate finished her story and sat back. The rest of the team stared at her for a moment, then Tony pulled her into his arms.

"I'm just pleased you didn't die. I love you!" he whispered to her.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Sorry for the slow updates. Life really is getting in the way. Thank you for staying with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I still do not own most of these characters and continue to borrow them.**

**Chapter 14**

Later that night, Kate and Tony lay together in bed. Kate's head was on Tony's chest and he was drawing circles on her bare back.

"Do you miss England?" Tony suddenly asked.

"Yes, and no," Kate replied honestly. "There is so much of England that I fell in love with, but it didn't have you." Tony smiled.

"Right answer," he whispered.

"Honestly Tony, I really did miss you."

"I missed you too. But I thought I'd never see you again. At least you knew I was still alive and you could always come back – you knew I'd take you back."

"Actually," Kate started, "I kind of didn't. At one point I decided I'd had enough and wanted to come home to you. And they told me you'd found someone else." Tony looked at Kate.

"When?" he asked.

"About 4 years ago." Kate replied. Tony thought about it.

"Jeanne" he said, and then continued under Kate's questioning gaze.

"I was undercover, told to become romantically entangled with the daughter of an arms dealer. I did as I was told." Kate nodded in acceptance of this and looked up at Tony.

"You understand why I didn't come home at that point?" she asked. Tony nodded and Kate rested her head back down again. Tony then chuckled.

"What?" Kate asked.

"You're saying that you spend years in England raising our daughter, teaching and having the time to go do these community meeting things. I can't imagine you having the patience to put up with that!"

"Not only did I do it Tony, but I did it well. And don't you forget it!"

"I couldn't possibly. But I worry about what you went through Kate. It never occurred to me that you would go through all of that on your own. I'm your husband – at the very least I thought I would be there to look after you!" Kate smiled then moved to kiss Tony gently on the lips.

"I know. It happened, and neither of us wanted this. I just want to move on now Tony."

"Ok, but just one more thing." Kate rolled her eyes at this, but waited for Tony's question.

"Did you... did you meet anyone in England?" Tony asked hesitantly.

"You mean that I could get involved in romantically?" Tony nodded.

"No. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your perspective, I did not find anyone who even compared to you. Now, what about you?" Tony looked away before answering.

"There was someone," Kate nodded. She already suspected this, she was just waiting for confirmation.

"You have to remember Kate that I thought you were dead. Thought you would want me to move on eventually and not waste away pining for you." Kate smiled at this.

"Ziva?" she asked. Tony nodded.

"How did you guess?"

"The phone call. I'm not stupid Tony and I put a few things together in my head."

"I broke up with her." Tony told Kate, hoping that she wasn't going to leave him. "I explained you were my wife and I just wasn't prepared to leave you again. I meant what I said about being a family again. That is the only thing I want – to be with you and Charlotte as a proper family." Kate studied Tony's face carefully.

"You know, I would have understood if you had moved on, don't you? And, although it would have been tough, I would have accepted it." She told him. She had been about to continue, but Tony stopped her with a kiss.

"Whatever happened, I never completely got over you. Any chance to have you back and I was going to take it."

"What about Ziva?" Kate asked. Tony run his hand through his hair, indicating his awkwardness at the subject. He looked Kate in the eyes before replying.

"Ziva has never completely compared to you. I felt I had to move on and Ziva is attractive. But I explained to her that you were... are my true love and I think she understands. She is just going to need time."

Kate nodded and this time it was Kate that kissed Tony. When she pulled back, Tony sighed.

"I missed this." He said. "Although, we never really had a proper chance at this before you 'died'!" Kate giggled.

"I missed it too, Tony. I'm sorry for..." Tony silenced Kate with another kiss.

"No more being sorry. I just want to be a proper family now." Kate nodded. "Now, time to go to sleep. We've an early start in the morning." Tony put out his hand and turned off the light. Gradually the pair fell asleep.


End file.
